‘I didn’t realise how bad it was then I held my hands out and saw blood pouring’

Carrie Price was injured at a Tough Mudder event in Faygate SUS-170831-113401001

Sarah Page

Published:15:08Thursday 31 August 2017

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A mum ended up with her teeth embedded in her nose after she fell on her face at a Tough Mudder military-style endurance event.

Mum-of-two Carrie Price is still undergoing surgery after the incident on land at Holmbush Farm, Faygate, last year.

As well as breaking her jaw, Carrie says she has also lost her sense of taste and smell and is taking legal action against event organisers.

She says she wants to warn people about the dangers involved in such Tough Mudder events which are growing in popularity.

Carrie, who’d entered the five-mile Half Mudder obstacle race in Faygate last September, had completed the bulk of the course when the accident happened.

She said: “The last obstacle, Everest, was like a skate ramp that was between three to five metres high that you have to run up to reach the finish.

“You grab at the top and pull yourself up but, just before it, we’d been in a pool of water so it was virtually impossible to get a grip on anything.

“I went up the first time and fell so I tried again but fell on my face. I didn’t realise how bad it was as I was just dazed at the bottom of the obstacle but then I held my hands out and saw blood pouring.

“Organisers stopped the participants behind me and they were all looking for my teeth which were later found embedded in my nose.”

Carrie, 35, was treated by on-site medics and has since undergone a number of operations including one to put her teeth back in place, bone grafts which involved taking bone from her hip and putting it in her jaw, and an operation which involved ground-up cow bone being mixed with human bone to build up her mouth. “They’re trying to build up my gums as I currently don’t have any.”

She saidthe accident and its aftermath had also been hard for her family. Her seven-year-old sone was doing the Mini Mudder event “so saw me after it happened and thought I was going to die.”

Carrie said she didn’t expect an easy ride when she signed up for the Half Mudder but says she didn’t foresee being in pain nearly a year after competing.

Nicholas Hagi-Savva, a personal injury specialist at Slater and Gordon Solicitors who are handling Carrie’s case said Carried “was a fit and healthy woman before she took part in this event. She regularly went to the gym and was prepared for the challenge ahead. She expected to come away with aching muscles and a few cuts and bruises but what has happened has completely changed her life.”

“We constantly review procedures and protocols to minimize risk, but with any sporting and/or endurance event, there is always potential for risk of injury.

“ Upon arrival at any Tough Mudder event, participants must acknowledge and sign a waiver that they fully understand those risks, and accept responsibility for any injuries as a result of those risks or of their physical condition upon entry.

“We have an extensive team of trained medical personnel on site to assist anyone who needs assistance.

“Tough Mudder does not comment on potential legal matters.”

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